Valve has removed and replaced a selection of CSGO skins for the AWP rifle and other inventory items after claiming they were based on “stolen artwork”. The change follows recent CSGO updates altering the map including Ember and Boyard as the Steam FPS game also breaks its own record for concurrent players.
On February 9, as part of the Revolution deal, CSGO released a new skin for AWP called “Doodle Lore”. A colorful snarling dragon, sniper rifle skin was available for around $300 USD (£248 GBP).
“High risk and high reward, the infamous AWP is recognizable by his signature report and one hit, one kill policy,” reads the description for the Doodle Lore skin. “He was custom painted with doodles of hearts, flowers, an MVP trophy and a brightly colored dragon.”
However, on February 15, a post on the official Counter Strike blog stated that the Doodle Lore AWP and inventory skins had been removed and replaced with another skin called “Duality in Revolution”. As reported by Dot Esports, the removal comes after a Twitter user, “Danidem”, claimed that the skin was based on the work of artist “Vexx_Art”.
Noting that other CSGO skins, including one for the M4 assault rifle, may be based on “stolen artwork,” Danidem says Vexx_Art has filed a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notice to remove the Doodle mask. Lore.
“I was contacted by private message and it seems that the M4A4 is not the only one with stolen artwork”, Danidem writing. “Jimba’s (an alternate name for the Doodle Lore skin) AWP is basically a dragon by artist Vexx_Art. Apparently they’ve already been contacted and will be filing a DMCA.”
Danidem shares an image of the Doodle Lore skin with the original dragon artwork from Vexx_Art.
In response to the removal of the CSGO skin, Vexx_Art also posted a response, saying that they would be willing to redesign the Doodle Lore skin themselves. “Stolen art has been deleted”, Vexx_Art of. “If CSGO is willing to let me rethink Doodle Lore, I’m in!”
The removal is among other CSGO updates that changed textures, clipping issues, and various assets on CSGO maps including Ember, Boyard, and Chalice. The Steam shooter recently broke its own concurrent player record, which previously stood at 1,308,963 but is now a mammoth 1,320,219.
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